THE FINAL WORD

“Colorado Election 2010 TM” is a landmark television series focused on the highly competitive gubernatorial and U.S. Senate races in Colorado along with the other highly-contested races and ballot issue contests in the State. 

COMCAST Entertainment Television (“CET”) and USA Talk Network (“USA-TN”) have finalized an agreement for 2010 which guaranteed the statewide broadcast during the Prime Time slot of 8:00 pm on Mondays.  COMCAST also will broadcast the shows at 7:30 am on Fridays and Sundays.  The programs will be available 24/7 via the free COMCAST Video on Demand service through Election Day (November 2, 2010).   

The programs also will be broadcast across Colorado by ION Media Networks (KPXC-TV) as well as by Denver Open Media (the Open Media Foundation) and TV Aspen, among numerous other broadcast and Web outlets.  In addition, programs will be available 24/7 on the Website for the series.  (Please note:  Due to our exclusivity agreement with COMCAST, USA-TN is not giving the series to and it and will not be broadcast on KBDI-TV Channel 12.)

“Colorado Election 2010” differs from other public affairs programs because it offers viewers the opportunity to truly make in-depth assessments of the candidates via substantive discussions.  This has never been done to this extent in the history of the State or nation (i.e., up to 40 programs are anticipated).  The series also is expected to play a major role in the ultimate outcome of the 2010 campaigns.

The concept is to build on the 2008 USA-TN election initiative broadcast by COMCAST Entertainment Television when former Congressman Bob Schaffer (R) ran against incumbent Congressman Mark Udall (D).  Entitled, “The Senate In Balance TM,” the 2008 project was considered a great success with the production of 22 programs for the series.  The entire effort can be viewed at www.SenateCO.com.  

“Colorado Election 2010” anticipates even more participation than the 2008 series.  For a list of the 2008 endorsements, go to http://www.senateco.com/Endorsements.html).  As a special feature of the 2010 initiative, the programs are being be offered to newspaper Websites in advance of television broadcasts as a way to generate interest by having the print publications promote the television broadcasts.  Known as Publishers’ Advantage, this initiative is expected to significantly increase the number of voters who view the programs.

THE U.S. SENATE RACE.  The U.S. Senate race in Colorado already is attracting major national attention as Democrats seek to hold onto their 60 seats in Washington, DC.  Incumbent Michael Bennet (D) has never run for elected office and remains relatively unknown although his fundraising has been prodigious.  Bennet already has been formally endorsed by President Barack Obama.  He is being challenged by former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives Andrew Romanoff in a primary race which many consider a toss-up.  A solid Republican nominee will make the race close and, although there are multiple contestants, former Lieutenant Governor Jane Norton leads the pack.

THE GOVERNOR’S RACE AND OTHER STATE RACES.  The Colorado gubernatorial race already is highly contested and likely also will be very close.  Former Congressman Scott McInnis has a lead over all prospective Democratic contenders now that incumbent Democrat Bill Ritter has decided to quit the race.  With the entry of John Hickenlooper, this will be an exciting race with national implications, especially given the debate about the State’s Budget, the New Energy Economy, and other issues relevant to discussions in other states and the nation itself.  The series will feature other races in Colorado, including the most hotly-contested candidate races and ballot issues.

In addition to the Senate and gubernatorial contestants who participate, the series will draw from others who have won election to these positions.  The pool includes Colorado U.S. Senator, Mark Udall (D), and former U.S. Senators Wayne Allard (R), Bill Armstrong (R), Hank Brown (R), Ben Campbell (R), Gary Hart (D), Ken Salazar (D), and Timothy Wirth (D), and Colorado’s former Governors --- Dick Lamm(D), Bill Owens(R), Roy Romer(D), and John Vanderhoof (R), although the latter’s participation is limited due to health.  All the former Senators supported the 2008 demonstration project.  That effort resulted in the production of more programming for a federal race than had ever been created in the history of the United States. 

Citizens will be able to participate directly in the series via the Publishers’ Advantage initiative.  The program will give each publication the opportunity to have its readers send in questions for the candidates for the shows.  Examples of the diversity of publications which already have signed up for the initiative include:

The Boulder Daily Camera        The Canon City Daily Record         ColoradoBiz Magazine

The Colorado Statesman           The Delta County Independent      The Denver Business Journal

The Denver Daily News             The Fort Collins Coloradoan           The Grand Junction Sentinel

The Greeley Tribune                  InDenverTimes.com                       The Johnstown Breeze

The Longmont Times-Call         The Loveland Reporter-Herald        …and many more publications

The Publishers’ Advantage concept provides attractive, unique, high-quality programming at no cost to print publications which can make available via their Websites to their readers.  Of this will be for an exclusive period of time before some shows are televised.  In most cases, the publications also will have access to Web broadcast rights for full television show broadcasts and short segments (e.g., 1 to 3 minutes apiece) of the most interesting portions of each program.  They often will be able to tell their readers they can view the shows on the papers’ Websites in advance of being able to view them on television (i.e., “Watch it here first”).

The publications also will inform their readers where they can view each complete program on television (e.g., they will publicize the television broadcast schedule).  Because newspaper readers represent the most politically active demographic in the State, the involvement of newspapers is a perfect match for the series.

This is a win/win/win/win arrangement.  The publications get exclusive video content --- making them more attractive to their subscribers and advertisers.  The broadcasters get new content along with promotions from the publications which, in turn, direct more viewers to the television broadcasts and increase audience numbers.  And candidates get a chance to detail their positions.  The result is citizens receive a valuable benefit by getting high quality information in a manner which mitigates negative political advertising.   These reasons are why “Colorado Election 2010” provides a significant public service.

“Colorado Election 2010” will be hosted by Aaron Harber, whose viewers are tremendous consumers of news.  They include the State’s opinion-leaders, businesspeople, elected and appointed officials, and most politically-active citizens --- typically drawn from the worlds of Media, Government, Politics, Business, and Education.  They are very well-educated, have high incomes, and are decision-makers. 

Aaron is uniquely qualified to host the series due to his extensive broadcast and political experience as well as his knowledge of key issues and the political process.  And the recognition by members of both major political parties in Colorado of the nonpartisan nature and evenhandedness of his work is paramount to the success of this initiative.  View Aaron’s biographical narrative at http://harbertv.com/aboutbio.html.

Aaron was graduated from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public & International Affairs with his A.B. concentration in Economics, and received his graduate degree from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government with his Masters degree in Public Administration focused on (1) Ethics in Government, Politics, and Business, and (2) Campaign Finance Regulation in all 50 states. 

Aaron has broadcast from the White House and from both Republican and Democratic National Conventions.  Aaron gained national acclaim when he was sued frivolously for $20 million by Rush Limbaugh for using the word "Rush" in the title of his national radio program ("After the Rush").  With support from both sides of the aisle, Aaron won the federal case and teased Limbaugh by renaming the show “Against The Rush.”  Thanks to the publicity from Limbaugh, Aaron moved in 1998 from the Talk America Radio Network (where he was heard on 51 radio stations across the nation) solely into television.

“The Aaron Harber Show” debuted statewide in 2002.  Aaron served from 2004 to 2008 as a host of the KBDI-TV Channel 12 and CBS4 (KCNC Channel 4)“Colorado Decides” series.  View the show’s 27-second Open at to see some of Aaron’s guests.  

The talk industry's leading publication -- "TALKERS MAGAZINE" -- selected Aaron out of more than 5,000 hosts as one of America's "100 Most Important Talk Show Hosts" in 1997 (with others such as Don Imus, G. Gordon Liddy, Rush Limbaugh, Dr. Laura Schlesinger, Howard Stern, and Bruce Williams).  Please visit the show’s Website (www.HarberTV.com) or e-mail Info@HarberTV.com for more information.  Thank you.

(C) Copyright 2010 by USA Talk Network, Inc. and Aaron Harber.  All rights reserved.  “USA Talk Network,” “Colorado Election 2010,” “The Senate In Balance,” “Blind Justice,” and “The Aaron Harber Show ” are the registered trademarks and/or the proprietary products, tradenames, and/or properties of USA Talk Network, Inc. and Aaron Harber, Post Office Box 17143, Boulder, CO 80308-0143; e-mail: Producer@HarberTV.com.   [02-15-10]

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